Episode 131 - The Spousal Audit Episode

The Host Unknown Podcast

This week in InfoSec (06:17)

With content liberated from the “today in infosec” twitter account and further afield

27th November 1995: Microsoft Shipped Internet Explorer 2.0

Microsoft Corp. shipped Internet Explorer 2.0, starting a browser war with the popular Netscape Navigator.

Netscape Communications Corp. had had a virtual monopoly on World Wide Web browsers since the infancy of the web. The Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers serve as a format for viewing and creating World Wide Web pages, as well as participating in newsgroups and sending e-mail.

Microsoft promoted its Internet Explorer with specific mention of its privacy and encryption features (such as support for SSL).

Chrome browser has a New Year’s resolution: HTTPS by default (2020)

24th November 2014: The Washington Post published an article which included a picture of TSA master keys. As a result, a short time later functional keys were 3-d printed using the [unblurred] key patterns displayed in the picture.

The secret life of baggage: Where does your luggage go at the airport? (Image since changed)

https://twitter.com/todayininfosec/status/1198722561355337728

Rant of the Week (18:41)

Australia will now fine firms up to AU$50 million for data breaches

The Australian parliament has approved a bill to amend the country's privacy legislation, significantly increasing the maximum penalties to AU$50 million for companies and data controllers who suffered large-scale data breaches.

The financial penalty introduced by the new bill is set to whichever is greater:

• AU$50 million [Approximately $34m USD for context]
• Three times the value of any benefit obtained through the misuse of information
• 30% of a company's adjusted turnover in the relevant period

Previously, the penalty for severe data exposures was AU$2.22 million, considered wholly inadequate to incentivize companies to improve their data security mechanisms.

The new bill comes in response to a series of recent cyberattacks against Australian companies, including ransomware and network breaches, resulting in the exposure of highly sensitive data for millions of people in the country.

"The Albanese Labor government has wasted no time in responding to recent major data breaches. We have announced, introduced, and delivered legislation in just over a month," reads the media announcement.

"These new, larger penalties send a clear message to large companies that they must do better to protect the data they collect."

The most notable incidents were the Optus telecommunication provider data breach that impacted 11 million people and the Medibank insurance firm ransomware attack that exposed the data of 9.7 million.

Apart from setting higher fines, the new bill also gives greater powers to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to get more involved in the privacy breach resolution and scope determination process.

 

Billy Big Balls of the Week (28:19)

San Francisco lawmakers approve lethal robots, but they can't carry guns

San Francisco police can deploy so-called "killer robots" following a Board of Supervisors' vote on Tuesday, clearing the cops to use robots equipped with explosives in extreme situations.

The robots primarily will be used to neutralize and dispose of bombs, and provide video reconnaissance, according to San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. He added that none of the robots will carry guns, "and SFPD has no plans to attach firearms," in a Twitter thread after the vote.

"However, in extreme circumstances it is conceivable that use of a robot might be the best and only way of dealing with a terrorist or mass shooter," Mandelman said.

Such a situation has happened before. In July 2016 a mass-shooting incident left five police officers dead and another 11 people wounded, and the suspect was cornered in a local building. Police strapped an explosive charge onto a bomb-disposal robot, which detonated near the suspect, killing him.

[One particular comment on this which made me chuckle was: “Considering American cops can't even go into an active shooter situation to save schoolchildren, I assume this will be the first course of action for anything above a parking ticket.”]

- *Shots fired* (but not by the Texas police)

Industry News (34:48)

Experts Find 16,000+ Scam FIFA World Cup Domains

Ireland’s DPC Fines Meta €265m Following Large-Scale Data Leak

Let's Encrypt Issues Three Billionth Certificate

Australian Parliament Passes Privacy Penalty Bill

Majority of US Defense Contractors Not Meeting Basic Cybersecurity Requirements

Researchers Accidentally Crash Cryptomining Botnet

Eight Charged with $30m Unemployment Benefits Fraud

UK Extends NIS Regulations to IT Managed Service Providers

WhatsApp Files on Dark Web Show Millions of Records For Sale

Tweet of the Week (43:40)

https://twitter.com/hackinarticles/status/1597820497856643072

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